Sean Malone: "The Great Commission – Fulfilled in the Context of Great Crisis"

As I travel, train and interact with different streams within the Body of Christ, I am constantly hearing questions from Believers about whether things will get better or worse in the days ahead in terms of world events and natural disasters. It's a good question and one that the Church needs to be prepared for with the wisdom of the sons of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what to do (1 Chronicles 12:32).

"A Time of Darkness and a Time of Light"

Some streams of Believers only speak of how bad things will become as they gather beans and guns and hunker in fear for Jesus to return. Other groups imply that things should get better and better and only then will Jesus come back.

I want to suggest a third perspective according to Joel 2, where the day of the Lord is called both great and terrible, a day that is "coming near." Joel described the time before and leading up to the coming of the Lord as "the great and terrible day of the Lord." Based on this prophetic word by the prophet Joel, I want to suggest that even as times are getting darker and darker, which they are, the light and hope of Christ is going to shine brighter and brighter to counteract the onslaught of darkness. So my answer to the common question about what's going to happen in the days ahead is not one or the other, but both!

Isaiah 60:2 confirms this, "For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you."

While global crises and disasters get more severe and frequent, the glory of the Church will shine like never before and it will be our greatest hour! At Crisis Response International we are on the ground, bringing relief and aid in some of the worst disaster situations in the world. It's devastating to see the loss, grief, and trauma that so many people are enduring, both in the United States and around the world. Yet, at the very same time, we are seeing the miraculous power and presence of God move mightily in and through our responders who are willing to step out in faith and obey the command of Jesus to go. (Photo via Graphicstock)

The Great Commission and Condition of the Earth

You are likely familiar with what Jesus said in Matthew 24:14, "And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

This passage is often looked at as if it is only by us getting the Gospel to every "tongue," "people," and "tribe," that Jesus can then come back. This is good and true, but have you ever thought about the context and the conditions of the earth that the Gospel will go forth in and reach every person on the earth?

Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 all describe the unique challenges the earth will be experiencing when the Gospel goes forth to every nation: Famines, wars, pestilence, earthquakes, persecution, terror, increased wickedness, dreadful events and the heavens shaking are just a few of the troubles that will accompany the spreading of the Gospel unto the ends of the earth.

If we believe the Great Commission is to be fulfilled in our day, and that WE ALL are to play a part in fulfilling it, then we need to train for missions and outreaches differently. A few years ago, I was given a dream in which Billy Graham was preaching the Gospel. He looked at me in the dream and told me to build an apostolic sending center, one that would train and prepare not just one evangelist, but an army of Believers and responders equipped with the knowledge of God and prepared to minister in the midst of deep darkness and despair.

To this end, through a series of confirmations, including a prophetic drawing given to me years ago by a friend and mentor, the Lord opened the door for an 85-acre missions base and training center in Blue Ridge, VA, and we're calling forth young and old to hear the call of God and get ready for the great and terrible days ahead. There will be great darkness, but also great light.

Even with all these dynamics taking place, great delusion will remain and the masses will not recognize the hour of history we are living in.

"But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." (Matthew 24:37-39)

How to Receive Power for the Last Days

Ask the Holy Spirit for sobriety and urgency so you will have a faith-filled response to the challenges ahead and be a light in the darkness.

Remember when the disciples asked Jesus when He was going to bring justice and establish His Kingdom on Earth? Jesus responded: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8) (Photo via Pixabay)

These were His final words before being taken up into Heaven. Jesus intrinsically linked the outpouring of the Spirit to a "last days" missions thrust. This confirmed Joel 2:28-31, "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out My Spirit. And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes."

So the command remains: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

Pray and ask the Father to pour out His Spirit into your life to equip and empower you to reach the harvest in the midst of crisis! He is re-emphasizing missions in this season and equipping and empowering people to GO! (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)

Sean Malone
Crisis Response International
Email: info@criout.com
Website: criout.com

Sean Malone is founder and director of Crisis Response International, a Christ-centered disaster relief training and sending organization based in Blue Ridge, VA. The ministry has trained and mobilized nearly 10,000 responders and has ministered in major world crises including most recently the Paradise, California fires, Alabama tornadoes, and Nebraska floods.

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